Dear Golf Nut, how can I fix the occasional shanked golf shot?

Well fellow golf nut, I usually find a couple of reasons for shanked shots. In this answer I will explore them so that hopefully you can avoid them on the golf course in the future. There can be a number of reasons for shanked shots, but these two are some of the most common that I have seen.

Both of these causes of shanked golf shots usually occur for one of two main reasons. Either a long layoff from golf has occurred or, for whatever reason, you lost your focus. But regardless, they are easy to fix with a little practice and by staying focused during your round of golf.
First cause of a shanked shot that I have seen is raising your head on your downswing. I experienced this a few years ago when I had to take an unplanned break from golf for about 3 months. When I came back out, I didn’t even realize that I was raising my head until my playing partner told me. I wasn’t raising it much, but it was causing me to hit a lot of iron shots right off the toe of the golf club. Concentrate on seeing the golf club make impact with the golf ball.
Second reason for a shanked shot can be standing too close or too far away from the golf ball. This causes shots to go off the toe or heel of the golf club. Sometimes golfers unconsciously move closer to or farther away from the golf ball at address to correct other golf swing problems. Then they find that they hit some shanked shots and don’t understand why.
Both of these things also tend to become more of a problem without a consistent pre shot routine. A good, consistent pre shot routine that you execute exactly the same before every golf shot helps to keep your set up and swing more consistent and less prone to allowing little, unconscious habits to creep into your golf swing.
Have fun out there on the golf course!